Apple’s new mixed reality headset looks a little different up close: It features a wire connecting to a battery pack.
Shares of Unity, a popular apps and games company, are enjoying the Apple effect.
Unity’s stock climbed more than 17% on Monday after the announcement that the apps and games on its platform will gain full access to VisionOS features.
“We know there is a community of developers who have been building incredible 3D apps for years,” Apple’s Susan Prescott said at the event Monday,” adding that “Unity-based games and apps can gain full access to VisionOS features such as Passthrough, high-resolution rendering and native gestures.”
Apple’s stock, meanwhile, closed 0.76% lower.
Apple shares climbed to a record intra-day level but fell short of closing at an all-time high on Monday after the company unveiled a new headset at its annual developer event.
Shares of the iPhone maker closed down 0.76% at $179.58 on Monday after climbing to $184.95 at its high. The stock was on track to end the trading session above its record close of $182.01 in January 2022.
Still, Apple stock is up 38% for the year.
Meanwhile, shares of Unity Software climbed 17.2% after Apple said that its working with the company for its Vision Pro release
Vision Pro, Apple’s new VR/AR headset, will work with a slate of apps that the company mentioned Monday.
A large number of iPad and iPhone apps will be available on Vision Pro at launch, Apple said. For example: Users could fire up Adobe Lightroom and edit photos using just their eyes and hands.
Apple’s own Reality Composer Pro is a new app that makes it easy to assemble complex scenes with realistic objects.
Several popular apps and games from the platform Unity will gain full access to VisionOS features, as will productivity apps Microsoft Word, Excel and Teams along with Zoom and Webex by Cisco.
More apps will surely come, as developers can use tools like Swift UI, Reality Kit and others to build new apps for Vision Pro.
Vision Pro will have a brand new app store to download those apps specifically built for VisionOS, as well as compatible iPad and iPhone apps.
If you’re interested in Apple’s vision of the future, it’ll set you back. A lot.
Apple’s new Vision Pro AR/VR headset will cost $3,499. That’s more than twice the cost of the most maxed-out iPhone 14 Pro. It even costs more than Apple’s biggest MacBook Pro.
By contrast, its closest competitor, the Meta Quest Pro, costs $999.
Apple said the Vision Pro will go on sale early next year, after developers have time to build apps that work with the system.
Apple wrapped up its WWDC presentation after introducing the Vision Pro mixed reality headset, the company’s most significant hardware innovation in years.
The headset, expected to be for sale early next year for $3,499, will give users the chance to connect to apps from Apple and others in an entirely new way.
Among its hardware announcements, Apple also announced updates to MacBook Air and Mac Pro.
The company also introduced software updates for iPhone, Mac, iPad, AirPods and Watch, including new health, video conferencing and privacy features.
Here’s a rundown of what the new products announced at Apple’s WWDC will cost:
Disney CEO Bob Iger joined Apple’s WWDC to discuss how Disney will create content for the new Vision Pro headset.
“We’re constantly in search of new ways to engage, inform and inspire our fans,” Iger said, calling the Vision Pro a “revolutionary technology.”
Apple teased new Disney, National Geographic, Marvel and ESPN experiences in the new headset. Iger said that Disney+ will be available on the headset at launch.
The company showed off a new mixed reality headset called Apple Vision Pro, in what promises to be its biggest and riskiest new hardware launch in years.
It will cost $3,499.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said the device, which blends virtual reality and augmented reality, is “the first product you look through, not at.”
Augmented reality is a technology that allows users to overlay virtual images on live video of the real world.
“It looks familiar but it’s entirely new … just like it’s in your physical space, using natural intuitive tools like your hands, face and voice,” he said.
According to Apple, once a user puts on the device, they’re able to see apps directly projected in front of them. The interface is designed to look “truly present” in your room, responding to light and casting shadows to help users understand scale and distance.
“It’s easy to make apps any scale .. anywhere in your space that feels natural,” an Apple executive said at the event. “It’s just you and your content … it feels like magic.”
The device responds to a users’ hands and eyes “as if your mind if guiding the experience.” But it even works if hands are in a lap.
Vision Pro, which features a custom R1 processor, will run on VisionOS, allowing developers to reimagine existing apps or create new experiences and worlds for the device. Users can
Apple said it previewed Vision Pro to a subset of developers ahead of the event – some of whom created experiences ranging from virtually seeing how the human heart works to support for Microsoft Office. Users can unlock the Vision Pro with their iris via Optic ID (think FaceID for the eyes).
The company said it filed 5,000 patents during the development of the device.
Apple’s new Vision Pro mixed reality headset will display the eyes of its users on the outside of the headset, in a departure from how other headsets look and function.
The goal, according to Alan Dye, Apple’s vice president of human interface, is for users to feel like “you’re never isolated from the people around you, you can see them and they can see you.”
The “eyesight” feature makes the headset look see-through, allowing the wearer’s eyes to be seen from the outside when someone else walks into the room.
If the wearer is engaged in an app, the headset will not show their eyes, to indicate they’re in the middle of something.
Building on its suite of health features, Apple highlighted a new tool called Screen Distance which measures if a device is too close to a user’s face.
In addition, new ambient sensors will be able to track outdoor time and keep eyes healthier. The data can be viewed in the health app on the Apple Watch and iPhone health app.
Apple introduced new health features for the Apple Watch and iOS Health app.
New mental health features will let users input information into their Health app about their current feelings and state of mind, including using sliding emotion scales, and include details about what is making them feel that way. The tool will also let users take standardized assessments to answer questions often asked in clinics to see their current risk of depression or anxiety, and access helpful articles and resources.
A separate feature will allow users to track the amount of time they spend in daylight.
The Apple Watch is getting a solid refresh, most notably with a smart stack that uses machine learning to show relevant widgets, from medication logs and calendars to viewing sleep data. It’s also adding Snoopy-themed watch faces that adapt with the weather, such as showing rain above Snoopy’s signature red house.
The Apple Watch is also adding more cycling features, such as the Bluetooth-enabled cadence and speed trackers, and a Compass tool that automatically generates a point the last time a user had reception to inform others in case of an emergency. The company said the feature will highlight where on the route a user can make a call using any carrier’s network.
Among AirPods’ most loved features is the ability to toggle between noise cancellation and transparency mode. Now Apple is giving people the ability to let their AirPods do the toggling themselves.
The company announced a variety of “adaptive audio” features for its wireless AirPods. The update intends to make it easier for users to move through changing environments, such as automatically reducing distracting noises, and learn user habits and preferences to make audio changes on the fly.
Adaptive audio will also focus on the voices directly in front of the user, and can more seamlessly transfer between apps, such as ending a conference call and streaming a playlist.
If you’ve ever wanted to FaceTime your friends and family on a much larger screen, Apple has you covered.
Apple is adding the option to launch the video calling app on Apple TV, which will connect to your iPhone or iPad’s camera and microphone.
You can also join a FaceTime call from a friend and move it to Apple TV. As you move around, you will stay framed on the call.
While on the call, you can pull up the entertainment options available on Apple TV and everyone on the call can watch.
Apple is adding the ability for users to share their passwords and passkeys — an alternative sign-in method — with other users of their choice.
Everyone in a group will be able to add and change passwords to keep them up to date. Users will be able to share the passwords through iCloud and Keychain, which keeps them end-to-end encrypted.
Apple announced changes to video conferencing on MacOS, including a new way for users to share their screens.
Mac users will now be able to share their screens while video conferencing and ensure their face stays on the screen. The “presenter overlay” feature will let users choose between having their face show up as a small bubble over their shared screen, or have their shared screen show up next to their face as if it’s in the same room.
Apple also introduced new video reactions on video conferencing, where confetti, balloons or fireworks will show up over their users’ faces.
The features will be available on a range of video conferencing apps on Mac, including FaceTime, Zoom ,Teams and Webex.
“Alexa”
“Hey, Google”
“Hey, Siri.”
“Hi Bixby”
What do the smart assistant launch phrases all have in common? They’re three syllables.
But Apple announced two new updates to Siri on Monday during its WWDC presentation, including dropping “Hey” from the Siri launch phrase. When iOS 17 launches later this year, you’ll be able to trigger Apple’s digital assistant just by saying “Siri.”
Apple also announced that Siri will allow you to carry on conversations with it after giving you an answer. So instead of…
“Hey, Siri, how tall is Shaquille O’Neal?” “Hey, Siri, how old is Shaquille O’Neal?”
You should be able to say:
“Siri, how tall is Shaquille O’Neal?” “How old is he?”
That kind of continued conversation has been a Google Assistant feature for a few years and makes conversations with digital assistants more seamless.
And you still have to use three syllables to trigger Siri’s competitors.
Adding to its suite of new social-focused apps, Apple’s new NameDrop tool lets users share their contact information by holding two iPhones close together to contacts.
The feature works alongside AirDrop, Apple’s existing wireless service that lets users transfer files between supported iOS and Mac computers.
Get ready for “NameDrop me?” to be a thing we say now.
Apple is building on the popularity of its Memories photo widget by launching a new app that will help users collect memories in one place on their devices.
The Journal app will use on-device machine learning to suggest what users might want to input and write about in their digital journal.
When users go on a trip, for example, Journal might suggest that they place in the app their locations, photos and the music they listened to while they were there. It can also provide writing prompts to encourage users to make notes about the experience.
With Journal, users can also schedule notifications to remind them to write. Apple said the Journal app will have on-device processing and end-to-end encryption, with the option for users to lock their journals.
